Talent advisory
How to secure candidate buy-in at senior level
Why the best leaders are selective — and how to engage them in a meaningful way.
The people worth appointing are usually doing well where they are. They are not looking, they are not short of approaches, and they will assess your organisation long before you assess them.
Buy-in at this level is earned through the quality of the conversation, not the size of the package.
Lead with the problem
Strong executives are drawn to consequential work. A precise account of what is hard about the business will hold their attention far longer than a description of culture and benefits.
It also filters honestly: the people it puts off were never going to enjoy the role.
Respect the risk they are taking
A senior move costs a candidate security, standing and often money in the short term. Processes that run slowly, change shape or leave silences are read — correctly — as a signal of how the organisation makes decisions.
Pace is a form of respect. So is telling somebody early that they are not the one.
Let them meet the reality
Serious candidates want to meet the people they will work with and hear a version of events that is not entirely flattering. Organisations that allow that conversation lose fewer offers at the final stage, and the people who accept arrive without illusions.
Buy-in is not a closing technique. It is the accumulated effect of a process that treated the candidate as a peer.